The FA Cup Trophy At Blundell Park

19 October 2014

THE famous FA Cup Trophy will be at Blundell Park this Wednesday ahead of our FA Cup tie against Guiseley on Saturday. Supporters can have their pictures taken with the famous trophy, which will be at Blundell Park from 1pm. And Shaun Pearson and Scott Neilson will be in the club shop from 4pm too.

The present FA Cup trophy is actually the fourth in the history of the competition.

The first winners of this trophy were Liverpool in 1992 after they beat Sunderland.

The first trophy, awarded from 1872 to 1895, was made by Martin, Hall & Co and looked nothing like the one played for today. Made of silver, it was less than 18 inches high and cost £20 to make. It had a figure of a footballer on the top and was popularly known as the 'Little Tin Idol'.

The famous Wanderers team won The Cup three years running in the 1870s and under the rules of the competition they were entitled to keep it. But they decided to hand it back to The FA on the understanding that no other team would retain it if they won it three times.

The last winners of that first trophy were Aston Villa in 1895. Five months after their triumph at the old Crystal Palace it was stolen from the William Shillcock football outfitters shop in Newtown Row, Birmingham. It was on display there and was never recovered, despite the offer of a £10 reward.

Sheffield Wednesday were the first winners of the new trophy in 1896 and Newcastle United the last in 1910. Messrs Vaughton's of Birmingham were the silversmiths who made it and they had miniature replicas to work from (see left), commissioned by Wolverhampton Wanderers after they won The Cup in 1893.

This oldest surviving FA Cup trophy was purchased at auction in 2005 by David Gold, Chairman of Birmingham City, and can now be seen on display at the National Football Museum in Preston.

So the second trophy looked very much like the first.

In 1910 The FA found that the design of the trophy had been pirated, so it was withdrawn and presented to Lord Kinnaird to mark his 21 years as FA President. Then a number of companies were invited to submit designs for a new one.

Messrs Fattorini and Sons of Bradford had their design accepted - and Bradford City, by an amazing coincidence, were the first winners of the new trophy in 1911.

The FA Cup's third trophy was 19 inches high, excluding the plinth, and weighed 175 ounces. A far more imposing trophy than the first two, it was destined to become one of the most famous sporting prizes in the world.

After 80 years of wear and tear it was replaced after the 1991 Final by an exact replica.

Book your Guiseley tickets Online, by Calling 01472 605050, or by visiting the ticket office at Blundell Park.